June 19: Introduction to PragueToday we had a guided walk around the City Center, where we saw Old Town for the first time. It is quite an enchanting feeling the first time you see it. We saw it early in the morning, so it was fairly empty. I have come to know since then that it is typically packed with tourists, street vendors, street performers, and tour guides carrying umbrellas, stuffed animal on sticks, or other miscellaneous objects to make them stand out in the crowds.
- Týn Church
Astronomical Clock Tower
This clock tower is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Prague. Running off and on for over 600 years, it is the only astronomical clock still in operation. Enthusiastic crowds gather throughout the day to see what happens when the clock strikes the hour: the bells chime, the doors above the clock face slide open, and rotating statues appear that represent the Apostles.
This isn't as impressive as Old Town, but the building where the AIFS office is located has these really cool old elevators. Rather than having one or two elevators with up or down buttons, there are two elevators, without doors, that never stop: they consistently move up or down, and you just jump on or climb off when you get to your floor. Mom, you would love them, I know it.
Following our orientation (which luckily was free of icebreakers--I'm thinking the Europeans wouldn't be too into those), we had a tour guide take us around Old Town. The first time we heard her snap her gum into her microphone, we knew she was a character. With her bright red hair, breathy voice, and repetitive nature, it was hard not to find humor in her idiosyncrasies. Immediately she picked out Kevin, a hilarious member of our AIFS group who has no idea how funny he is, to be the "caboose" of the tour so that she knew that we were all still behind her. We didn't think too much of this at first, but soon we realized that she would reference Kevin constantly when it was really not necessary at all. Huffing and puffing up the castle steps, she would gasp, "Keveeen? Is Keveen still there??" Toward the end, we would of course laugh and join in with her, questioning Kevin constantly on his whereabouts. Before leaving, she chimed in, "We better stop. He'll think we're possessed with him." I'm pretty sure she meant to say "obsessed with," but either way, it was clear that she very well may have been. I feel a little badly, but she has definitely become the joke of our trip. Rarely do we go anywhere new without referencing Katarina at least twice. But really, if you met this lady, you would understand.
The view from Prague Castle
St. Vitus Cathedral, designed by Charles IV and located right next to Prague Castle.
One of the many musical groups who performs on Charles Bridge
Upon completion of our tour, during which I gave up listening to Katarina breathe heavily into her microphone and just decided to take photos, we went on a river cruise on the Vltava. It was beautiful to see the city from a new standpoint, and of course have some delicious Czech food.
From our boat, in front of Charles Bridge.
June 20: Attempting to learn Czech, and observations of the Czech culture
Today was our 8-hour Czech course! It was really useful, but it was certainly difficult to process so much information at one time. Luckily our professor understood this, and had us play games for memorization. We played a game called Boom to learn numbers in Czech, which I’m quite positive is usually a drinking game but proved an effective memorization device. The most useful phrase we learned other than “dekuiji” for “thank you” is probably “prosim.” When in doubt, just say prosim and you will likely be correct. It is used for please, excuse me, you’re welcome, and other phrases.
Of course it was discouraging when we tested out our Czech for the first time and received an immediate response in English, but some places in Old Town understandably do not have the patience for new foreign speakers. We learned that you just have to be persistent. It is difficult though, because when we do receive responses in Czech, there is little to no guarantee that we will understand what they are saying. Our strategy has mainly been to say simple phrases in Czech, but if we don't understand, ask if the other person speaks English beyond that point. It is an extremely difficult language but the locals really appreciate it if you put at least some effort into learning.
In general, however, the attitudes of locals varies extremely. Some are very kind and will be patient with you as they understand that you are learning a new language and culture. Others are either annoyed when you cannot speak Czech, annoyed when you attempt to speak Czech, or annoyed with you no matter what you do. It is true that the culture in general can seem cold and reserved. People find it odd if you make eye contact with them and smile. They often only look directly in front of them, especially on public transportation, where they sit silently and read (which is actually quite nice.) As an American on the metro or tram, you will be looked at pretty much no matter what, but especially if:
you even whisper with the person next to you (much less speak at an American volume); you are wearing bright clothing; looking at your phone; or looking around; basically, if you are doing anything other than sitting silently and reading. It is a quiet culture and very different than anything I've experienced, but one that I admire very much. I enjoy being in a high-populated place that is still very calm. It is a big city but it is so beautiful and peaceful that it rarely feels like you are in a city at all. Well, except for the tourists
A major reason why the Czech attitude can come off as rude to Americans is because they do not see any value in feigned pleasant interactions. For example, they see it as illogical to answer the question "how are you" in the grocery store with the generic "good, and you?" They don't see why you would ask them how they are doing if they don't know you, and they don't see any use in responding with a generic response if it isn't true. What seems polite to us seems useless to them. They are very straight forward and see some American customs as unnecessary. As our AIFS guide explained to us, "If you really ask a Czech person how he or she is doing, be prepared for a 20 minute response." She was speaking about how when you really get to know Czech people, they are honest and no-nonsense. To Americans, they may seem very standoffish at first, but that is only if you don't take the time to get to know them.
The elderly people, however, (as we had been warned) mainly just want nothing to do with you. They have spent most of their lives under the Communist regime, which may be a reason why they have very little reason to trust or be kind to strangers. The Velvet Revolution that ended Soviet Rule was in 1989, not too long ago. Communism has left a heavy mark on the average citizen, or at least his or her family. And the suspicions and cold attitudes that naturally arose with a large population of secret spies and informants has certainly not altogether died down in the older generation. We were told by our guide who often takes groups of elderly Americans around the city, that elderly Czechs will be very outwardly rude to the Americans. I myself have experienced situations such as an older checkout woman throwing my groceries and yelling at my in Czech for trying to take a plastic grocery bag without paying (who knew?)
It is definitely a new and fascinating culture and I am learning more every day. Those are a few things I have learned thus far, but for now I will continue with the day's events:
Today was our 8-hour Czech course! It was really useful, but it was certainly difficult to process so much information at one time. Luckily our professor understood this, and had us play games for memorization. We played a game called Boom to learn numbers in Czech, which I’m quite positive is usually a drinking game but proved an effective memorization device. The most useful phrase we learned other than “dekuiji” for “thank you” is probably “prosim.” When in doubt, just say prosim and you will likely be correct. It is used for please, excuse me, you’re welcome, and other phrases.
Of course it was discouraging when we tested out our Czech for the first time and received an immediate response in English, but some places in Old Town understandably do not have the patience for new foreign speakers. We learned that you just have to be persistent. It is difficult though, because when we do receive responses in Czech, there is little to no guarantee that we will understand what they are saying. Our strategy has mainly been to say simple phrases in Czech, but if we don't understand, ask if the other person speaks English beyond that point. It is an extremely difficult language but the locals really appreciate it if you put at least some effort into learning.
In general, however, the attitudes of locals varies extremely. Some are very kind and will be patient with you as they understand that you are learning a new language and culture. Others are either annoyed when you cannot speak Czech, annoyed when you attempt to speak Czech, or annoyed with you no matter what you do. It is true that the culture in general can seem cold and reserved. People find it odd if you make eye contact with them and smile. They often only look directly in front of them, especially on public transportation, where they sit silently and read (which is actually quite nice.) As an American on the metro or tram, you will be looked at pretty much no matter what, but especially if:
you even whisper with the person next to you (much less speak at an American volume); you are wearing bright clothing; looking at your phone; or looking around; basically, if you are doing anything other than sitting silently and reading. It is a quiet culture and very different than anything I've experienced, but one that I admire very much. I enjoy being in a high-populated place that is still very calm. It is a big city but it is so beautiful and peaceful that it rarely feels like you are in a city at all. Well, except for the tourists
A major reason why the Czech attitude can come off as rude to Americans is because they do not see any value in feigned pleasant interactions. For example, they see it as illogical to answer the question "how are you" in the grocery store with the generic "good, and you?" They don't see why you would ask them how they are doing if they don't know you, and they don't see any use in responding with a generic response if it isn't true. What seems polite to us seems useless to them. They are very straight forward and see some American customs as unnecessary. As our AIFS guide explained to us, "If you really ask a Czech person how he or she is doing, be prepared for a 20 minute response." She was speaking about how when you really get to know Czech people, they are honest and no-nonsense. To Americans, they may seem very standoffish at first, but that is only if you don't take the time to get to know them.
The elderly people, however, (as we had been warned) mainly just want nothing to do with you. They have spent most of their lives under the Communist regime, which may be a reason why they have very little reason to trust or be kind to strangers. The Velvet Revolution that ended Soviet Rule was in 1989, not too long ago. Communism has left a heavy mark on the average citizen, or at least his or her family. And the suspicions and cold attitudes that naturally arose with a large population of secret spies and informants has certainly not altogether died down in the older generation. We were told by our guide who often takes groups of elderly Americans around the city, that elderly Czechs will be very outwardly rude to the Americans. I myself have experienced situations such as an older checkout woman throwing my groceries and yelling at my in Czech for trying to take a plastic grocery bag without paying (who knew?)
It is definitely a new and fascinating culture and I am learning more every day. Those are a few things I have learned thus far, but for now I will continue with the day's events:
At the end of our Survival Czech class, our professor took us on a mini-field trip across Charles Bridge. We saw a place called Love Lock Bridge, similar to the one in Paris (which, by the way, recently collapsed under the weight of all of the locks), where people carve their initials and hearts and such and lock them on the bridge.
Looking out from Love Lock Bridge.
A little bit past this was the Lennon Wall, which remains one of my favorite sites in Prague. This wall is a symbol of peace and creative expression for the Czech people. During Communist rule, people would try to paint on it as a form of rebellion but the police would continuously cover it up. Now, people paint new quotes and pictures on it every single day, leaving only the giant painting of Lennon.
Our plan after this was to get dinner and then eventually head to the United Islands Music Festival. Since Prague has several islands located along the Vltava River, this free festival is designed so people can island-hop all evening and hear different bands. However, since it was still our first week in Prague, we became quite lost. We got dinner at this great restaurant, and then tried to go a random direction that, looking back, made no logical sense whatsoever. At first, we reflected on Z’s words to guide us (the very wise man who is our cultural guide). He said: “if you get lost, you may become frustrated, but just listen and follow your heart, and eventually you will find your way.”
Well, this was a very sweet thing to say, and I’m sure it works great for those with any sense of direction. Nonetheless, being someone who is extremely directionally challenged but also loves Z, I was all content with “you know, my heart is telling me to go in this direction” only to finally look at a map and realize we were completely across town. After making fun of ourselves extensively, we finally arrived at the festival to find it long over. So, we scoped out a very funky jazz bar that is free for students, and ended up getting to hear some great music and experience a portion of Prague's extensive jazz scene.
Well, this was a very sweet thing to say, and I’m sure it works great for those with any sense of direction. Nonetheless, being someone who is extremely directionally challenged but also loves Z, I was all content with “you know, my heart is telling me to go in this direction” only to finally look at a map and realize we were completely across town. After making fun of ourselves extensively, we finally arrived at the festival to find it long over. So, we scoped out a very funky jazz bar that is free for students, and ended up getting to hear some great music and experience a portion of Prague's extensive jazz scene.
Even though we got lost, we also got to see this for the first time:
June 21: Kutna Hora
Today we did a day trip to Kutna Hora with our entire AIFS group. It is a small silver-mining town about an hour away from Prague. Kutna Hora has an extensive, intriguing history and now runs almost entirely on tourism. They had a huge Renaissance fair the day we visited to mark the beginning of the high-tourist season.
Soon after boarding the bus to Kutna Hora, we realized who our tour guide for the day was: Katarina! Oh, boy. Kevin was very distraught.
We started out the day with a trip to the cathedral called The Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady, which had some amazing paintings on the sides with extravagant frames and ceiling work.
The church was reconstructed in 2003, during which these skulls were found:
We then walked to the Kutna Hora Bone Church, which is made up of the bones of 40,000 people who died in the Black Plague as well as the Hussite Wars. The church, called the Church of All Saints, was built in the late 14th century. I thought the skulls in the previous church were really something, until entering the Bone Church and seeing this:
Kutna Hora legends say that in the 13th century, a monastery returned to Kutna Hora from the Holy Land with a small amount of earth and sprinkled it over the abbey cemetery (right next to where the bone church is today). It soon became a very common burial site in Europe, and after the Black Plague and Hussite Wars there were too many bodies to be buried there so it had to be enlarged. The Black Plague brought the number up to about 30,000 bodies, and then in 1421 the Hussite troops captured Kutna Hora, burnt and devastated the church, and killed about 10,000 more people.
In the beginning of the 15th century, the Gothic church was built there with an upper chapel and an underground Ossuary. Eventually, legends say that a half-blind monk was given the task of moving the bones into the Ossuary, after which he got his eyesight back. In the 16th century, the bones were apparently already decoratively arranged, and have been repaired and rearranged several times since. Today, there is a chandelier in the middle of the chamber that contains one bone from each part of the human body; a coat of arms made out of bones of the Schwarzenberg family (who employed the woodcarver to order the bones); and a crypt in the middle for those who were the most respected in Kutna Hora.
Crypt commemorating the most respected of the town:
The whole experience felt eerie at first, and I found it hard to fathom that the people killed would have wanted their bones on display in such a way. But in the end I wondered if it was actually more respectful than disrespectful; perhaps displaying the bones from the Hussite Wars this way is more obviously symbolic of the consequences of religious violence than a cemetery or traditional place of burial could be.
Saint Barbara’s Cathedral was next. Its construction began in 1388 but due to many interruptions was not complete until 1905. The church is a mix of baroque and Gothic, representative of different architects that took over during its long construction.
St. Barbara was a Patron Saint of the Miners whose father beheaded her for escaping from marrying an older man.
St. Barbara was a Patron Saint of the Miners whose father beheaded her for escaping from marrying an older man.
Later on in the day, we went on a tour of the silver mines. We got to fashion fancy hard hats and robes and proudly walk through the town of Kutna Hora before our guide took us down 160 stairs into the mines. Despite how difficult it was to walk down there, the experience was awesome. There were several times where we had to walk bent over or try really hard not to touch the narrow slimy walls. At one point our guide had us all turn out our flashlights to see what it was like for the miners without any light. It was so pitch dark that we could not see anyone at all, even though we were all wearing white. Even though it was really cool, about 45 minutes down there was enough for all of us. I can’t begin to imagine what it was like working down there all day.
Sporting the garb in the mines:
The mines were our last stop before returning to Prague. In the evening, I met up with some friends from the London study abroad group that came to visit that weekend. Since almost all of them are huge Beatles fans, we walked across the Bridge again to visit the Lennon Wall, and then did a lot of walking along the Vltava and around the city center.
Anthony, Sean, Colin, and I
We spotted this adorable scene near the bridge, in which two young sisters were hugging and dancing to these street performers' music, ending with running to their mom.
June 22: Petrin Hill & Music
My friends who were visiting did not have a flight back until late afternoon, so we hiked up a bit of Petřín Hill, a very well-known city site. The hill is absolutely huge and there's no way to fit it into one morning, but there are simple yet beautiful walks that you can do within a couple of hours.
After the London crew headed back to the airport, my friends and I experienced a lovely evening of music. Music, especially jazz, is a huge part of Czech culture. There are hundreds of jazz clubs around the city and many free outdoor music festivals on any given summer day. We overheard an outdoor festival while eating dinner, and then went to the Reduta Jazz Club--where apparently Bill Clinton played his saxophone in 1994. This place had more of a concert-type and sophisticated feel than other casual places we had been, but we tried our best to fit in even as some high-class citizens shushed us, and we saw things like a woman in line intensely questioning the bartender about how exactly he makes his mojitos. The band we saw was called the Big Band, and they were excellent. Also big. I have tried to look up their music but I can only find things about the Big Bang theory.
Coming Soon: More about Prague; trips to Berlin and Vienna!
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